Presidential race bound to be tight

While there were ebbs and flows along the way, Mitt Romney is going to be the Republican nominee to take on Barack Obama for the presidency this year. And what a race it is shaping up to be. The candidates are close in national polls, though, in reality, this race will in hinge on what happens in about a dozen political swing states. The country's partisan divide is apparent for everyone to see.

During the primary season, Romney has essentially outlasted his opponents, watching some fall to scandal and verbal missteps, while others just couldn't raise enough money to keep up or struggled to devise a consistent message during the campaign. Republicans definitely hurt their chances in the general election by having their primary elections swing so far to the political right, in a move that polls have shown has alienated some independents, minority groups and women. And Romney will have to continue to field and deflect criticism that he has flip-flopped on many substantial issues - including gun control, abortion and health-care reform.

Ultimately, though, November's election is going to be a referendum on Obama. The country is largely split about his performance, and with good reason. Proponents will argue he inherited a miserable financial situation, made the best of it, and now the economy is rebounding. Detractors, though, are an interesting lot - they don't necessarily fall into one camp. Some are "small-government" Republicans who abhor what they see as pure unadulterated government activism on the part of the Obama administration. They will cite the huge federal stimulus package and health-care reform among other big-ticket items approved under his watch. But, since taking office, Obama also has lost substantial support from independents and liberals who were banking on him to be a far more a transformational president than he has been.

New York isn't considered one of the swing states in this election and, thus, will be spared the worse of the glut of negative ads that are bound to fill the airwaves in places like Florida, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. This race seems destined to be close, and it's surely bound to get nasty. But now that the contest is clear, people can hone in on the records of these two candidates, get beyond the political parties' talking points and hopefully make a thoughtful choice for president.

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Presidential race bound to be tight

While there were ebbs and flows along the way, Mitt Romney is going to be the Republican nominee to take on Barack Obama for the presidency this year. And what a race it is shaping up to be.